When it comes to choosing a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, you will probably never have dearth of choices. Be it to crave your bolt action needs, or a simple AR to go target practice with, the fast, minimal deflect Creedmoor rounds are the ideal choice if you do not want to immediately start dropping speed straight out of the barrel.
Thus, if you are looking into getting some of that action for yourself, welcome to our best 6.5 Creedmoor rifles reviews!
We have done all the work for you and sorted out the best rifles, both AR and bolt action, chambered in the much revered 6.5 Creedmoor long-range rounds.
Do give us a read!
Our Top Pick
Ridgeline Bolt-Action Rifle
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Best 6.5 Creedmoor Rifles Comparison
| Model | Barrel Length | Round Capacity | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savage Axis XP TrueTimber Kanati | 22″ | 4 ROUND | 6.5 lbs. | Check Price |
| Christensen Arms Ridgeline | 26″ | 3+1 ROUND | 6.75 lbs. | Check Price |
| Smith & Wesson M&P10 Sport | 16″ | 20+1 ROUND | 8 lbs. | Check Price |
| Springfield Armory M1A Tanke | 16.25″ | 10 ROUND | 9.1 lbs. | Check Price |
| RUGER – AMERICAN PREDATOR | 22″ | 3+1 ROUND | 6.6 lbs. | Check Price |
| RUGER – AMERICAN PREDATOR 6.5 CREEDMOOR | 22″ | 3+1-ROUND | 6.6 pounds | Check Price |
| RUGER – PRECISION RIFLE | 24″ | 10+1-ROUND | 10.7 lbs | Check Price |
| TIKKA – T3X COMPACT TACTICAL | 24″ | 10+1-ROUND | – | Check Price |
| SPRINGFIELD ARMORY – M1A | 22″ | 10+1-ROUND | 11.4 lbs | Check Price |
Top 6.5 Creedmoor Rifles Review in 2023
So, for this review, we basically sorted out the best available options, pitted them against one another on the basis of points. Afterwards, proceeded to rank the 6.5 Creedmoor rifles in a tiered list.
RISE ARMAMENT 1121XR 6.5 CREEDMOOR PRECISION CDM RIFLE
We will start off the list with a very trigger happy long range rifle, fairly lightweight for its class with basically zero overtravel. Yep, that is right. We will be glancing at the 1121XR chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor from RISE ARMAMENTs. For all those looking for one of the best long range, assault rifle, do read on.
Coming to the rifle itself, we have to peek at the trigger at first. It is the standout feature of these 1121XR’s. The trigger has almost zero overtravel. So good in fact, we would not blame you for thinking that there is not any. The trigger reset is quite firm. If nothing else, we recommend checking out the rifle just for this trigger set.
Rapid follow up shots with this gun certainly maintains a degree of accuracy. The stock used is a Magpul PRS stock with the pistol grip also from Magpul, a MOE. Ambidextrous safety and selector as standard.
A threaded 22 inch barrel means that you can opt for a rand of barrel related attachments.
As far as 6.5 Creedmoor rifles, the 22 inch 1121XR really ups the precision game.
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Savage Axis XP TrueTimber Kanati Bolt-Action Rifle with Scope
If you are looking to get your kid into hunting, and want something cheap as a beginner hunting rifle, it does not get better than the Axis XP TrueTimber Kanati from Savage. Chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, this is our pick for the best 6.5 Creedmoor youth rifle. Let us see why.
Like we said above, for a gun that is chambered in 6.5 Creedmore, the gun is quite competitively priced. And it comes with a scope from the get go. Thus, it is a perfect addition for any newbie just starting out with his hunting collection. Swiveling swing studs and a decent recoil pad, recoil, and gun control training is a can-do for this guns. Helps the newbie nail down on accuracy too.
The synthetic, composite stock is quite rugged and will sit through all the abuse (accidental of course, lol) that the newbie can bestow it with. It is also dipped in Savage’s TrueTimber camo. A truly capable 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, given its price point.
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Christensen Arms Ridgeline Bolt-Action Rifle
Intense, durable, reliable. These are the words we would use to describe the Ridgeline Bolt-Action from Christensen Arms.
Tough all round and bolt action 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, it is reliable enough that it could be taken for trips deep into the mountains and forests and be confident that it will back you up when it comes time to pull the trigger.
The barrel is ultralight, made of aircraft grade metal, further wrapped in carbon fiber to improve strength. On top of that, it is furnished with a radial muzzle brake that is removable. With the weight and durability covered, it is not surprise to anyone that this 6.5 Creedmoor rifle is one of the premier rifles on the market.
Furthermore, the barrels are free floating with a feature chamber to match. Thread protectors are stainless steel, as are the actions, all apt matched to the cartridge. This helps achieve zero-tolerance round cycling. Really, one of the best 6.5 Creedmoor rifles offerings.
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Smith & Wesson M&P10 Sport Semi-Auto Rifle
Affordable? Check. Uncompromising in terms of quality? Check. The M&P10 Sport from the household Smith & Wesson is a reliable Arm staple in most collections nowadays. Thus, the best 6.5 Creedmoor rifle list would be unwarranted if we were not to include a gun as popular as this. Let us have a glance.
Though quite not built to hunting spec, not quite AR 15 either, the M&P10 Sport still ensures peak reliability in rugged conditions with its dust cover plus forward assist.
The anodized finish on the already forged lower and upper receivers take the ruggedness up a notch. Also, the unit comes with a rail for your iron or optic sight options, which is great.
Now, the barrel is coated in Smith & Wesson’s very own Armornite finishing to aid corrosion resistance, with a further 1:10 inch twist on the 5R rifling. Furthermore, the butt stock is telescopic and can be shifted to six positions.
Paired with the ambidextrous controls, the M&P10 is a compelling add for all classes of shooters, for varying accuracy levels. One of the more compelling 6.5 Creedmoor rifles in the AR platform!
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Springfield Armory M1A Standard Semi-Auto Rifle
If you are looking for history and lineage in your 6.5 Creedmoor chambered firearm, the M1A Standard from Springfield Armory certainly fits the bill.
A direct descendent of the battle hardened, selective fire M14, the M1A certainly earns its keep with a higher potential for accuracy. Being cambered in 6.5 Creedmoor does help in that regard.
Built on the same platform as the long range battle rifle M14, the barrel itself is middle weight, being made of carbon steel. The barrel also features a 6-groove rifling with a 1:11 inch rifling twist.
And a birdcage flash suppressor to help prevent giving away your position after dark. Not particularly suited for big game, but downing a deer or two should not be a problem.
The stock itself is very reminiscent of the original, walnut wood finished in oil. There is also a Parkerized steel finish. Again, like the original M14, the stow away butt plate can accommodate the cleaning and oiling kit. The trigger is two stage and has decades worth of reliability prowess to boot.
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RUGER – AMERICAN PREDATOR 6MM CREEDMOOR
If you are on the sidelines for a cheap, reliable bolt action that you heavily mod to perfectly suit yourself and yourself only, the recommendations do not get much higher than the ones for the American Predator 6mm from RUGER, with three locking lugs as standard to give you that smooth 70 degrees of bolt lift.
We are looking at a more premium model of the American line, the Predator. This adds more to the already quite robust platform of the American. Instead of the Ruger sights however, the top is duly drilled and tapped off for adding custom scope bases.
Its base is 5 inches long and is constructed out of aluminum, for accepting Weaver rings. Comping to the magazine, it is a rotary one and it can be added and removed with incredible ease.
The stock magazine holds up to four cartridges. This trigger is a quality one, can be adjustable by the user with a range of 3 to 5 pounds and these news ones come with a safety lever that must be pressed into the trigger blade. The length of pull is quite decent too.
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RUGER – AMERICAN PREDATOR 6.5 CREEDMOOR
Cheap, reliable, durable, we are pretty much going to run out of tag words to describe the American series from Ruger. The Predator is a grade above your average American, with stellar trigger performance at a price unmatched by the closest competition. So what do you get for this competitive pricing?
It has hammer-forged barrel as standard, with a 70-degree throw bolt (three lugged) and rail over the barrel for mounting your various custom optics. The barrel is also threaded with a wide range of barrel accessories available for customization. In addition, the magazine is detachable too.
The Predator certainly punches way over its weight class with a rather solid feeling and adjustable trigger. Not too shabby, eh? Considering the price you pay, along with the added customizability, it is quite the steal for a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle.
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RUGER – PRECISION RIFLE 6.5 CREEDMOOR
Next up, we have a highly popular gun from the AR 15 platform. Something that can pull double duty as a modern sporting rifle, and even be shaped to serve as a designated marksman rifle. If it was not apparent by the title already, we will be glancing at the Precision Rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor from Ruger.
The AR 15 platform amassed a decent following since its inception. Thus, it was not exactly a surprise to anyone when large weapon houses like Ruger came up with bolt actions that imitated the winning features of the AR 15-10 platform.
We get a fully adjustable rear stock setup with an appealing skeleton style design with a 24 inch barrel. An inch of padding as standard on the recoil pad that is further attached to the easy-adjust buttplate.
Unlike a true MSR or AR 15, the buffer tube is a faux; one with a picatinny rail on the bottom. You can attach monopods to this rail. Cheekpiece? Yep, this is after all a bolt action rifle. Fully adjustable, with correct alignment. So, you could get away with deer, but not big game.
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TIKKA – T3X COMPACT TACTICAL RIFLE (CTR)
Lightweight and modular? Check. Awesome base for extensive customizability? Double check. The T3X COMPACT from Tikka certainly ticks all the right boxes with its high levels of versatility and ease of use, earning it the best 6.5 Creedmoor lightweight rifle tag on our list.
The T3x Compact Tactical Rifle certainly is multipurpose, and its heavy customizability means that it can be easily adapted to a lot of situations. And the stock is composed of a synthetic modular material. The lightweight prowess means that you will not be giving away your position, as you crawl along.
You’ll see that the pistol grip is also largely interchangeable, and thus it can be varied for a range of conditions. The check pad is non adjustable, however, it perfectly helps you get your eyes aligned with the scope. When it comes to the trigger, it is single stage with the pull range adjustable from 2-4 lbs.
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SPRINGFIELD ARMORY – M1A 6.5 CREEDMOOR
For those looking for the looks and aesthetics of a bolt action but want the rapid fire prowess of a semi automatic, the folks down at Springfield Armory have something that finely fits the bill. Their M1A rifles, 22 inch barrel chambered in 6.5 CREEDMOOR is up for the task in any training conditions.
The M1A makes use of a synthetic stock. Sturdy enough, the main intent was to drive down the weight as much as possible. And driving down the weight they did, to a very commendable 11.4 lbs. The fore end of these M1A rifles come with an 8 inch rail for attaching a vast range of accessories from lights to bipods.
A removable cover is also given, in case you are not planning on using the rails, to help protect your hands. The QD sling-swivel mounts are flush against the stock and fore of the gun itself. Nice! The recoil pad is for the most part useless. It is quite hard, thus, best not expect any premier experience in recoil reduction.
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What to Look for before Buying
Perhaps the rifles we featured were not to your taste. Perhaps you have a different Creedmoor rifle in mind. Whatever the case may be, this review guide would be very incomplete without a proper buyers’ guide, detailing out the things to look out for.
So, let us have a glance.
Are You Looking for an AR or a Sniper Rifle?
For this segment, let us assume that the sniper rifle in question is not a bolt action one. It is a semi-auto one. We will get into the AR vs bolt action argument later on. Now, it is almost a given that a sniper rifle will provide better accuracy at a longer range than an AR.
Depending on the rifle of your choice, the sniper rifle is also likely to provide you with a better shooting range overall. The argument concerning scopes and other mods do not fall in here, as those are factors that would not come into effect here. Iron sight accuracy; pretty old school, but hey it might matter to you.
Semi Auto or Bolt Action Rifles?
Now, we come to the best question. Are you a bolt action or an AR guy? Bolt action serves better as a budget friendly option most of the time. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Because the only tradeoff is the rate of fire, and possibly the ammo capacity.
In return, you get much better range control and of course heaps better accuracy. AR for one, can be a standard to some, with how easy it is to reload. But, you could also opt for a semi auto long range rifle, the best of both worlds. Sort of!
The point on, you will not be strapped for options and you are bound to find a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle that matches your needs.
Hunting, Target Practice or Home Defense?
The simpler way of asking this question would be asking about your particular needs. Do you want something for target practice? Well, both AR’s and bolt action rifles would be your best bet.
Something for hunting? Bolt actions, for their better accuracy.
Home defense? AR’s are the way.
Identify your needs and then pick your 6.5 Creedmoor rifle.
Pros and Cons of Creedmoor Rifles
So, why should you opt for 6.5 Creedmoor rifles over the traditional 30-06? For starters, the availability. A fair number of people will argue that the Creedmoor is a relatively young platform with no lineage whatsoever.
While that is very true, it is after all going toe to toe with the likes of 30-06 without a hitch. There must be some clear advantages.
Pros:
Stellar Target Cartridge
As a target cartridge, the performance relayed by 6.5 Creedmoor rifles is fairly top notch. There is minimal wind deflection, with the drop off curve activating much further down the line, offering higher levels of accuracy.
Easy on the Shoulders
While it is a rather powerful cartridge, the horizontal recoil from the shot is not as apparent as you get from shooting 30-06. The force from the recoil passed on the shoulder is less intense and thus, we can say that you also get better recoil control on these 6.5 Creedmoor rifles.
Now, some people might argue that this takes away the overall “tactility” of the gun, going so far as to say that the added recoil adds to the charm of the gun. Sure, probably guns for hobbies or vintage ones.
But for guns used in hunting? Not quite. For deer hunting, we would say 6.5 Creedmoor rifles are the way to go for best accuracy.
Easy on the Gun
The cartridge does not wear out the barrel as much. While there is no scientific or holistic experimentation tied to this, we can only say that the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge barrel required less cleaning out and maintenance from time to time. Make of that what you will.
Fairly Affordable
6.5 Creedmoor rifles rounds are usually more affordable than their counterparts. This makes these rounds incredible in terms of value proposition, driving up their demand when it comes up to choosing rounds for a bit of target practice.
Thus, we can say that a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle will be one of the far more cost effective, best rifles on the market.
Cons
Rifles Get Expensive, Depending on the Make and Model
Like all cartridges and ammunition, the cost of the rifle is independent and can vary wildly from rifle to rifle. You would be able to find rifles in the sub $600-1000 category. But the costs can pile up and the best, most premium rifles can cost upward of $1500.
Frequently Asked Questions
A 6.5 mm cartridge makes a stellar deer hunting rifle. The 140 grain bullets can handle deer with ease. And the wind deflection and accuracy make 6.5 Creedmoor rifles the first option for many when it comes up to choosing a deer hunting rifle.
These 140 grain bullets out of Creedmoor rifles can handle black bears but for larger game, we reckon there are better options. The power upon impact does not quite square up to larger game.
6.5 Creedmoor has a greater bullet velocity, when compared to .308. Thus, it can cover a longer range. Any target over 400 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor would be the recommended way to go.
Well, at this point it is not exactly a secret. The army did make a switch to Creedmoor ammunition from 0.308. But it is not the 6.5 Creedmoor. Rather, it is the 6.6 Creedmoor. The round has a higher velocity and stellar accuracy over long range.
This depends entirely on you. If you seek more power in close range, the 30-06 has more power straight out of the barrel. However, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a much faster and powerful projectile beyond 200 yards. That being said, hunting big game requires a higher punching round.
Final Words
And so, that basically is all there is to our best 6.5 Creedmoor rifles reviews. We have gleamed through the very top models to offer, whilst trying to keep the value proposition in check.
Before we sign off, we should mention, the Creedmoor cartridge is not the holy grail of the ammunition world. They serve their purpose well, and thus they earned their keep. No more no less. With that, signing off for now. Happy hunting!